Editorial

In preparing for this Special 63rd Edition of New Contree
to commemorate the Journal's 35th birthday (January 1977 - January 2012), we
came to the conclusion that a "down memory lane journey" also serves purposes
other than just do it for the sake of remembering. Milestone memories in the
past (especially the years where the Journal was known as Contree) served
the purpose of remembering the bulk of production days regarding "how much" and
"how many". Academics from various disciplines and amateur writers made
contributions. The inputs of these enthusiastic writers in the pioneering years
of the Contree / New Contree were no "weaker" than their counterpart historical
journals nationally. In 1987, after ten years of publishing, André Wessels
(then an employee at the Human Science and Research Council [HSRC])
reminded readers that Contree received accreditation in 1985
(which also meant that an editorial advisory committee was
appointed for the first time and that a peer reviewing process was introduced).
Over many years, interesting information on Contree was shared with readers:
Amongst others that the initial circulation (1977) was 1000 per edition, which
increased to 1500 in 1987; that the readership was wide and the cost per edition
paid by the buyer/subscription member R1.50 and that 95 articles were published
in the first 10 years. Both English and Afrikaans were used. This arrangement
has not changed, but more English written articles are included and writers have
to present abstracts in English regardless of the language used.

After 15 years of existence and
30 editions later, articles were produced with a local history focus that
covered the many facets of communities (health, environment, economy, politics,
local government and township developments, military activities, education
etcetera). The "scientific" phase of the journal formally started when
historians of the University of Johannesburg took over responsibility for Contree in 1992 from
the HSRC. The late John Bottomley of the North-West University's Mafikeng Campus
became the new editor in 1996 – which was a time that also marked the name
changed to New Contree. The New Contree Editorial Board salutes his passionate
contributions as Editor up to 2005.

Times have changed since the first years of Contree.
Editors of historical journals in South Africa today (which number about 15)
know that it is even more expensive to publish one edition of a journal. It is
equally true that peer-reviewing scientific articles have become more
professional to ensure high-quality contributions. This often results in a
dearth search for suitable articles. On top of this, writers are exposed to more
finicky journal requirements. Changing times and obstacles have therefore led to
a situation where New Contree only publishes an average of 7-8
articles per issue. The future ideal is four issues per annum with an even
broader international exposure. However, present finances do not allow for this
possibility yet. Since 2006, New Contree progressed to a new phase in its professional
approach (which included an addition to its name as: "A journal of historical
and human sciences for Southern Africa"). Book reviews, emphasised as an
important part of journals, have been picking up in the two regular annual
issues of New Contree. Alhough this section is not comparable to
the number of book reviews in the HSRC-years, other obstacles make comparisons
difficult.

Though historical journals do not have to function in historical societies or to be supported by such
societies, those housed in historical societies certainly have the advantage
above the "society-less" journals of having a platform for
person-to-person-communication during conferences. Also, historical societies
are provided with opportunities to be informed of recent research and to enspire
its authors to progress to a publishing phase. No editorial team has the time to
act as a marketing agent to remind historians and academics to subscribe to a
"society-less" journal. Societies and the intellectuals they serve should
therefore become more involved in the discipline they represent by familiarising
with its journal base and focus and supporting it from that angle with research
contributions and other means, before totally loosing it as platform.

Despite these challenges, New Contree has made it to
2012 and will continue for the next 35 years if properly managed. This will be
possible if its members and the rest of the academic community support its
vision as a multidisciplinary journal with national, regional and local research foci.
Perhaps the time has come that New Contree should
develop into a scientific e-journal for easy dissemination to the general public
and learners in schools. In many ways, the Journal lost the support of a wide
range of people interested in regional/local history as it drifted towards a
more professional and scientific outlook. Ironically, a key aspect of the
regional/local history methodology is the community’s involvement. Therefore
reconsidering how New Contree can present research
contributions to "ordinary people" in especially Southern Africa, should be part
of its future thinking.

Contree's / New Contree's vision was significant
for South African historical scholarship. Apart from being the first to provide
a formal platform for everyday histories – an assignment Historia took on in its pioneering years (also with
Historia Jr) – New Contree has always been open to multidisciplinary
contributions and the newer trends in Historical research. While New Contree's
contributions to the regional and local historiography of South Africa are
interesting to some, its contributions to the methodology of such historical
studies are interesting to others. In this regard the first contribution to this
special edition discusses these matters and opens a historiographical and
methodological debate about doing regional/local history, and integrative
history and/or multidisciplinary research in regional/local areas.

The rest of this special edition
features a variety of regional research, covering micro histories on personalities in
Graaff Reinet
(on education related to race and class), the
Cape
(on diaries as source related to gender and class) and
Potchefstroom
(politics and economy in reporting on everyday life). The article on
Pep Stores
in the Cape Peninsula provides fascinating information on, amongst others, this
local retailer industry’s efforts to improve the skills of its labour force (for
example "black economic empowerment" in the early seventies).

In many ways the contributions
in the special edition of New Contree (and since at least 2007) have accommodated research
disseminations in many spaces or/and places in Southern Africa’s history.
Requests for a revisitation of the local/regional past spontaneously surface in
most of the articles accepted for this edition. Yet, it does not cover the whole spectrum of
micro-related research in regional studies research in South Africa as required
for an inclusive macro regional history. And it could not, because the space for
macro regional histories is much better accommodated in collective book
publications, and their production should be supported. The response to present
articles with a regional/local approach for this special edition was heartening.
Yet not all could be included due to time and quality control constraints. In
the New Contree publications to follow these revised contributions
will certainly also be accommodated.

Finally, the New Contree editorial board
thank all the contributors of articles since 1977 for advancing historical
research and debate in Southern Africa.

Any post-war society is characterised by complex relationships. Natal society
after the conclusion of the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) was no different. In this
article the post-war relations between the Natal rebels and ...

This article explores a young Scottish teacher’s attempt to implement the ambitious
plans for government education in Graaff-Reinet in the mid 19th century. Designed
for the whole population, the New System (or Established ...

This article offers a feminist literary analysis of selected excerpts from the diaries that
Lady Anne Barnard wrote during her stay at the Cape Colony from 1797 until 1802.
Lady Anne was, by all accounts, an extremely ...

This article uses the Pep Stores Peninsula Ltd case study (1973-1974) as a window
on State-Business relationships during apartheid and to highlight the dynamics and
outcomes generated by the combination of state controlled ...

The purpose of this article is to review the almost 50 years of formal regional and
local history research practices in South Africa under the umbrella of a variety of
rural and urban trends, themes and phenomena. This ...